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During a great celebration on the site of the temple and the city of Olympia, seat of the first Olympic Games in 776 BC. In Greece on July 20, 1936, Olympic organizers used a large mirror to reflect the sun’s rays and light the Olympic flame among the ruins and ruins, in the presence of dozens of women dressed in white.
The Olympic torch as it descends in Berlin and passes by the Brandenburg Gate
Greek runner Konstantinos Kondylis took on the task of lighting the Olympic torch from a large flaming cauldron before taking a few steps, announcing the start of the Olympic Torch Relay from Olympia to the German capital Berlin, with a view to give the signal for the start of the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.
The Olympic Torch Relay took 12 days to reach Berlin, which had been under Nazi control since Adolf Hitler’s accession to the rank of Chancellor in 1933 and the death of President Paul von Hindenburg the following year.
An imaginary drawing of the path taken by the torch in 1936
At first, everyone believed in the existence of an ancient Greek custom of relaying the Olympic flame from Olympia to the city that will host the Olympic Games. Over the days, it became clear to the whole world that the ancient Greeks did not have such customs, as the transfer of the Olympic torch was nothing but a master plan fully funded by the Nazis to propaganda purposes through which they sought to present a new face to Germany, or the Third Reich, coinciding with the rise of Adolf Hitler.
By recreating the capital, Berlin, its stadiums, and continuing the Olympic torch relay on foot, the Nazis wanted to underline the greatness of Berlin and show it as a civilized city and the center of the world.
The process of the Olympic Torch Relay was born from country to country since Olympia thanks to the sports director and the German responsible for the Olympic Games, Carl Diem. Karl Diem was the central figure in earning Germany the honor of hosting the Olympic Games in 1936. About 4 years ago, the latter played the most important role in persuading the Olympic Committee of the need to Berlin to obtain this honor in the hope of raising the morale of the German people who had suffered in recent years The remains of World War I and the scourge of successive economic crises.
Fritz Schelgen during the transfer of the Olympic flame to the Olympic stadium in Berlin
With the rise of the Nazis in 1933, Olympic officials expressed great concern over the Nazis’ intolerance of Jews and their racist policies, and some of them went to ask that the honor of host the 1936 Olympics be withdrawn to Berlin.
On the other hand, Adolf Hitler was not in favor of the idea of the Olympic torch relay from Olympia to Berlin. Over the following years, the Nazi leader described the Olympics in the most horrific terms and spoke of the Jews behind them. But with his meeting with Joseph Goebbels, Hitler became convinced that this process was necessary to give Germany a new face on the world stage.
A painting of the torch lighting at the Olympic stadium in Berlin
From Greece, the Olympic flame traveled more than 2,000 miles and traveled through Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Austria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia before being officially welcomed in Germany by 50,000 people on July 29, 1936. The following day , the German runner Fritz Schilgen took charge of the Olympic Games. torch relay The Olympic stadium in Berlin at a large party attended by more than 100,000 Germans, including Adolf Hitler.
In addition, Berlin 1936 represented the last Olympic Games before the outbreak of World War II, as the organization of this world sporting event was suspended for about 12 years. In 1948, London hosted the Olympic Games during which it continues to adopt the Olympic torch relay from Olympia to the host city.
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